Last updated: July 13, 2026
Place
Front Porch
NPS
Quick Facts
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Welcome to White Haven!
You are standing on the front porch of a house that is over 200 years old. This house has seen people born, grow up, fall in love, live, work and die. For the Dent and Grant families, White Haven was home. For the enslaved laborers, it was one symbol of a larger institution of inequality. And for south St. Louis County, Missouri, it is a story about a man who from humble beginnings rose to become a famed general and the 18th president of the United States.
The two stone steps leading up to the porch remain unchanged from Grant's first arrival at White Haven. In fact, they are the very same ones used by him to enter the home. The porch is unfortunately associated with a bad memory for Grant. After he and Julia Dent began their relationship, he proposes on the front porch and she says no! It would be Ulysses' determination, however, that would ultimately cause Julia to change her mind. She would accept a secret engagement as Grant heads to Texas to fight in the Mexican-American War. The two married in St. Louis following the conclusion of the war. To learn more about the courtship between Julia and Grant, check out "When Grant went A'Courtin'", by Julia's sister, Emma Dent Casey.
You are standing on the front porch of a house that is over 200 years old. This house has seen people born, grow up, fall in love, live, work and die. For the Dent and Grant families, White Haven was home. For the enslaved laborers, it was one symbol of a larger institution of inequality. And for south St. Louis County, Missouri, it is a story about a man who from humble beginnings rose to become a famed general and the 18th president of the United States.
The two stone steps leading up to the porch remain unchanged from Grant's first arrival at White Haven. In fact, they are the very same ones used by him to enter the home. The porch is unfortunately associated with a bad memory for Grant. After he and Julia Dent began their relationship, he proposes on the front porch and she says no! It would be Ulysses' determination, however, that would ultimately cause Julia to change her mind. She would accept a secret engagement as Grant heads to Texas to fight in the Mexican-American War. The two married in St. Louis following the conclusion of the war. To learn more about the courtship between Julia and Grant, check out "When Grant went A'Courtin'", by Julia's sister, Emma Dent Casey.